Targeted Violence/Active Threat
Recovery & Resiliency
In the wake of a targeted violence incident, law enforcement officers and civilians alike are left to process the events that unfolded. While law enforcement officers are among the most visible emblems of security, safety, and authority at a time when community members are frightened, confused, shocked, angry, and grieving, it is important to remember that they too are coping. The community as a whole must come together to heal, leaning on each other for support and requesting help when needed.
Police departments should be proactive in instituting officer safety and wellness programs. It is only by taking care of our officers that they are able to better protect their communities when active threat situations emerge. Similarly, law enforcement must be well-versed in caring for victims of traumatic events, understanding the implications of distress and shock. Law enforcement should partner with the community to ensure availability of resources aimed at helping victims cope in the aftermath of an incident.
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Title |
Organization |
Description |
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IACP Considerations Document and Concepts and Issues Paper – Employee Mental Health and Wellness |
IACP |
Personnel are the most valuable assets in a law enforcement agency. The documents provided are intended to assist agency personnel in developing policies, procedures, and guidelines to assist law enforcement employees in navigating potential mental health and wellness challenges. |
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IACP Model Policy and Concepts and Issues Paper – Post-Shooting Personnel Support |
IACP |
These documents provide guidelines that should be uniformly applied following any officer-involved shooting incident, in order to minimize the chance that officers will suffer from the negative emotional and psychological reactions that can occur after the use of deadly force in an on- or off-duty confrontation. They are designed to address the needs of the officer who discharged his or her firearm. |
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IACP |
The IACP Police Psychological Services Section developed these guidelines to educate and inform the public safety agencies that request fitness-for-duty evaluations and the practice of examiners who perform them. |
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IACP |
These guidelines are intended to provide information and recommendations on forming and maintaining a peer support structure for sworn and civilian personnel in law enforcement agencies. |
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IACP |
These guidelines provide recommendations to public safety agencies, and the mental health providers who provide the service, to prepare and respond to the health and well-being of law enforcement personnel following an officer-involved shooting. |
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The Signs Within: Suicide Prevention Education and Awareness |
IACP |
This report provides suicide prevention education and awareness materials, including recommendations for command staff, common factors associated with suicide, and national and local resources. |
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IACP |
This brochure discusses how family and friends of law enforcement can help prevent officer suicide. It also provides a list of possible warning signs, includes information on the importance of mental wellness and responses to trauma, and lists national and local resources. |
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IACP |
The stressors that police officers face can have serious implications for overall health and wellness. In times of stress and uncertainty, officers must take practical steps to prioritize their mental and physical wellness. |
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IACP |
This document highlights the IACP's Law Enforcement and the Communities They Serve: Collective Healing in the Wake of Harm efforts between 2016-2020 in give communities across the United States. |
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IACP |
This resource provides information to assist law enforcement parents with strategies to foster their child’s or teen’s resilience. |
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National Consortium on Preventing Law Enforcement Suicide Toolkit |
IACP |
This suicide prevention toolkit has all the information that agencies need to develop and implement a customized agency approach to prevent officer suicide and strengthen officer mental health. |
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Enhancing Law Enforcement Response to Children Exposed to Violence and Childhood Trauma |
IACP |
The IACP and the Childhood Violence Trauma Center at the Child Study Center at the Yale School of Medicine and supported by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), U.S. Department of Justice, are engaged in an initiative to increase the capacity of law enforcement to identify and respond to children exposed to violence and childhood trauma. |
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SAMHSA |
This issue of the Supplemental Research Bulletin focuses on how mass violence affects the behavioral health of adult and young (child and adolescent) survivors or witnesses of a mass violence incident. |
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OVC |
The information in this handbook is intended to help readers understand their reactions to an act of terrorism or mass violence. |
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OVC |
This blueprint, informed by research and lessons learned from the field, was created as a step-by-step guide to assist organizations in becoming more informed on vicarious trauma. |
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COPS, NAMI |
This guide provides chiefs and sheriffs with awareness and guidance on best practices for safeguarding the mental health and wellness of first responders in the early moments of critical events and during the long aftermath. |
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American Journal of Psychiatry, Frank G. Dowling, Gene Moynihan, Bill Genet, and Jonathan Lewis |
This article describes the Police Organization Providing Peer Assistance program’s outreach, support work, and screening for stress symptoms related to the disaster in the NYPD from December 2002 until December 2003. |
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HHS |
This easy-to-use pocket guide focuses on general principles of stress management and offers simple, practical strategies that can be incorporated into the daily routine of managers and workers. It also provides a concise orientation to the signs and symptoms of stress. |
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DHS,FEMA |
The Volunteer and Donations Management Support Annex describes the coordination processes used to support the state in ensuring the most efficient and effective use of unaffiliated volunteers, unaffiliated organizations, and unsolicited donated goods. |
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Tips for Healthcare Facilities: Assisting Families and Loved Ones after a Mass Casualty Incident |
HHS ASPR |
This tip sheet highlights best practices and issues related to planning for, activating, and operating hospital or healthcare facilities. |
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FBI, NTSB |
This guide was developed for local and state agencies involved int he response to mass fatality events. It provides an overview of the components of the family assistance process and family assistance center operations as they relate to transportation and criminal incidents. |
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COPS, FOP |
This guide was created as a means to increase awareness of those providers and programs that provide specialized, culturally competent, and occupationally aware wellness services. |
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National Mass Violence Victimization Resource Center Tip Sheets |
NMVVRC |
Library of tip sheets. |
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BJA |
BJA’s law enforcement officer safety and wellness portfolio’s goal and mission is to provide our nation’s law enforcement agencies and officers with unsurpassed, current, and innovative officer safety and wellness resources, training, and technical assistance. |
